Jess Parker
Strength lies in the fluidity of opposites – of line and mass, contraction and relaxation, tension and softness, push and pull.
Outside of the studio I enjoy the beauty as well as the physical demands and challenges of being in the outdoors. These pursuits require me to immerse myself in my physical environment and allow me to draw fresh inspiration. While my body is occupied my mind can wander. They require focus, endurance, power, motion, strength, conservation, grace and balance. I use my body both in my clay work and in these physical pursuits. I think about and look at bodies, particularly musculature and how it all works together. There is a tension revealed between the strength and grace of a contracted muscle, between its form and the natural softness of curve and lines of delineation. My pots are made of opposites similar to those demanded of physical strength. There exists a subtle tension between pure, controlled form and something looser and more organic. Ultimately I want my pots to be graceful, elegant, and straightforward.
It’s all about strength and beauty
Not only does the ceramic vessel contain, hold, and express a sense of volume, but also, as a potter, one must create a volume of pots. It is how one continually develops, educates, and grows our ceramic selves. These pots are part of my volumes; they come from the multitude of pots I have made in the past and exist along a continuum. They reference what and how I enjoy touching clay with a focus on the purpose of function and containment.
